


In His Arms She Found Her Place

by LorienDragonQueen



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood, Death, Depression, Emocional, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Food, Love, Magic, Masochism, Oral Sex, Rage, Sadism, Smut, Violence, nearly death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-11-05 01:41:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11003334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LorienDragonQueen/pseuds/LorienDragonQueen
Summary: "I am Isa Eraldsdottir, daughter of Earl Erald, from Engoland, neighboring county of Hedeby. And yes, I killed this man's brother in cold blood before he could rape me and take away my honor!"The whole hall begun to murmur."If you kill me, I am sure that my father will invade Kattegat with full strength, for he will find many allies to fulfill his revenge upon the woman who killed his only daughter. It is all on you, Queen Lagertha!" she finished calmly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy it!

"Here is your tool, Jorig. I truly thank you for your help and guidance!" she said handing the object to the man.

"No problem. Did you make some progress in your projects?" he asked gently.

"Yes, and thanks to your guidance. I've made this as an experiment..." and she took a medium size blade from inside her bag and showed him the pattern formed by the mixture of two different types of steel.

"This is gorgeous!" he said taking the blade from her hands. "What a truly talent you are, young Isa. Your father will be proud!"

"Please, do not tell him. Mother and father do not even imagine that I still make weapons. They say that it's men job!" and she sadly sighed.

"Well, if it makes you feel well, no man can do what you did here. You made something unique!" he said and the young woman smiled.

"Thank you, Jorig!" and she took something else from her bag "Here, I've made you blackberry's bread as a sign of gratitude. I hope you like it!"

And the man took the bread wrapped in a clean cloth and returned the single blade to its owner.

"You will be a great ruler someday, my lady!" he said grateful for the small gesture.

"I thank you, but to rule is not my aim in life." and she straightened her posture after putting the blade inside her bag again.

"And what is your aim then?"

"I want to discover new worlds!" and she openly smiled, giggling at the end.

"Very well, then. I wish the gods to look after you and smile to your fate!" he said sincerely.

"Thank you, Jorig. Now, I must wander a little more before my brothers arrives with the mighty Bjorn Ironside!" and she left the place hiding her face with the hood of her cloak.

"Who is she?" the young lad queried.

"Isa Eraldsdottir, Earl Erald's daughter. Her father rules the county near to Hedeby. She is a fine young woman!" the blacksmith answered taking a bite on the bread.

The young man pondered in silence for a bit.

"Why, young prince?" he asked a little perky.

And the man said nothing, shrugging.

Isa walked to one of the peaks around Kattegat with the intention of just sit down and eat the other bread that she baked. It wasn't a sunny day, but it was cozy. Nothing to be aware of and nothing to bother. A day just to be.

She ate a few pieces of the bread and took a few sips of her mead before she lay on the ground to watch the clouds.

"I see the cat and I see the rat, but where is the dog to set the trap?" she said to herself while looking to the clouds as she used to do as a child.

Isa became slumber with that silly game and took a nap. She loved her freedom, to fall asleep under the open sky. To live like her own. To be herself. At least, to be free while two of her three big brothers were raiding with the king's sons.

The day was over before she could awake in time, but she worried not. With the moon riding the sky to reach her place, Isa gathered her things and started to walk back to the hut that her father or brothers used to use when he or them was in Kattegat. With a whistling, she called for her dogs close to the wooden place and the four came running towards her - they were her only company.

"Fergus, Angus, Borus and Regulus, my babies!" she yelled at them and they barked.

After that, she gone inside the hut and prepared herself a bath to take before the night meal. And, after that, she slept even more, guarded by the four dogs.

Three days passed since her arrival in Kattegat where she first decided to visit the blacksmith before anything else. She passed invisible through the days, but, in the fourth, she was obliged to make herself noticed.

Isa was walking by the market to buy some food for the rest of her days in the proximities of the town. She was alone and she thought that no one has noticed it. She was wrong. A man, apparently a foreigner, thought that she was a mere slave attending to the orders of her owners - she was wearing a simple and old dress that resembled to rags. He followed her to the path that leaded to her hut - the path was a desert, for everybody was minding their own business.

"Hey, beauty!" he shouted at her, following her steps closely.

She continued to walk, but now with her fists closed.

"Stop acting like a noble lady and look at me, meeky thing!" he kept saying increasing his walking speed.

She growled and her breath became heavy, for she was trying to keep herself calm.

The man then finally reached her and grabbed her right fist.

"I want you, now!" he said pulling her close.

"You better let me go, filthy." she said between her teeth.

"Or what?" he teased grabbing her other fist and making she drop her basket.

"Very well, then!" and she took a deep breath before she hit her forehead in the nose of her aggressor.

"Oh, this is how you want it?" he said after losing his grip around her fists and feeling the blood run down to his lips.

Isa waited for his movement and then hit his face with a punch using all her strength, what made him bleed even more.

"I give you the chance to go away and alive, but only if you leave me in peace right now!" she said with a tiny hope inside her heart.

He growled and tackled her to the ground, ready to rape her right there at the open trail. She fought the man and finally reached one of her blades tied on her ankles. With a slight movement, she then cut his throat while looking to the bottom of his eyes. She watched the life leave him while his internal flame went out.

After that, she heard a man yelling towards them. She noticed that he was dressed similarly to the man bleeding upon her.

"Brother!" he cried out when he saw what had just happened.

Then the tumult had the proper start.

Isa was dragged to the great hall so the queen could judge her and punish her properly.

"What happened?" the queen asked amazed by the amount of red impregnated in the young woman.

"She killed my brother in cold blood!" the man said in anger.

"I demand to speak!" she said haughty with her chin up thrust.

And the queen beckoned.

"I am Isa Eraldsdottir, daughter of Earl Erald, from Engoland, neighboring county of Hedeby. And yes, I killed this man's brother in cold blood before he could rape me and take away my honor!"

The whole hall begun to murmur.

"If you kill me, I am sure that my father will invade Kattegat with full strength, for he will find many allies to fulfill his revenge upon the woman who killed his only daughter. It is all on you, Queen Lagertha!" she finished calmly.

"There is no need for such statement, young lady. Your father is an honored man and a great earl, an important ally, indeed. I know that you acted in self-defense and for that, I will not sentence you. There was no crime!" she proclaimed and Isa made a little curtsy.

The man left the place and nothing was heard about him.

Isa walked home without her basket and food. There was no way that she would go to the same path again - so she went to another with more movement. She was covered in blood from head to waist, as filthy as possible for someone who had just killed a man.

"What a lovely day..." she said to herself in a sardonic tone, kicking some stones in her way.

She was aware of what she had just done. She killed a man and then threatened the new queen, all in the same day.

"Father will chop my ears when he hear about what I did. But mother will be proud, I am sure of it!" she kept talking to herself.

By that time, the whole town should know about what happened. There would be gossips and misinterpretation of the truth. Probably they would speak about the odd youngest daughter of the earl and her short temper - which was not truth at all. She was the most patient person, also the kindest. To do what she did, she was pushed to the cliff and, to keep safe, she played according to the game and protected herself. That was all.

Isa arrived home and her dogs received her with howls.

"It is just me, stupid dogs!" and she giggled.

The four dogs then greeted her with the swaying of their tails and a few barks, sniffing the scent of the blood stuck on her skin.

The young woman sat at the balcony of the hut and rested a little before start to clean her face, bust and arms. She took a deep breath and then reached for some cloths and water inside her home. She sat again outside and finally started to clean the red in her.

The dogs started to bark.

"Shut up!" she said twisting the cloth inside the bowl on her lap.

The dogs kept barking.

"But why, in the name of the..." she was saying when she saw at whom they were barking at.

It was a surprise to see the young prince Ivar crawling towards her place.

"Fergus, Angus, Borus and Regulus. Come here!" she yelled to them and they obeyed, leaving the lad in peace to complete the path.

"I thought that you would like to have this back..." he said with a slave by his side carrying her basket.

She looked at him with suspicion, cautious, whilst they approached to where she was. The slave then put the object close to her in the balcony and waited.

"Leave now!" he said to the woman and she obeyed while he was sitting in the balcony as well.

Isa said nothing, she just kept doing what she was doing before. Regulus then came closer to the young man, curious. Isa just observed while cleaning her neck. The dog then simply laid beside him with his belly up.

"Are you serious, Regulus?!" she said unbelieving.

Ivar laughed and petted the dog's belly.

"What a great son of a wolf you are. You refuse the leadership of Fergus and act like a bitch with a stranger!" she completed and watched the other dogs do the same.

She gave up after that and the young man laughed at her expression.

"You will not thank me for bringing your basket to you?" he said petting the other dogs.

"I should thank your slave then. She carried, you just ordered." she joked.

He scowled.

"It was a joke. Apparently, I am quite stupid today and I do not even know why. I am sorry and thank you." she said after rolling her eyes.

"Better!"

"Now, what do you want?" Isa asked abruptly, spitting to the ground some of the blood with water that invaded her mouth.

"Why do you ask?" and he looked at her with a mischievous half grin.

"I heard that you are not gentle. You never were. What do you want from me? I have nothing to give you, if you want to know!" she said almost stumbling in the words.

He thought a bit.

"I saw you threat the queen. So I became curious to know who owned your loyalty!" he said cunningly. "And I also saw you a few days ago talking with Jorig in the forge and I got curious." he added.

"I know you saw me, for I saw you, prince." and she spat again.

"So..." and he became a little impatient.

"So what?"

"To whom are you loyal, Eraldsdottir?" and he arched one of his brows.

"I am loyal to myself, and that is all!" she answered, now cleaning her arms.

"This is no answer!" and he frowned.

"A person who is not loyal to oneself is not worthy of nothing at all. And, before you ask me to take part in your small war, my answer is no. I do not kill!" she said nobly as if she owned every single word.

He growled in a new scowl and threw the basket across the balcony.

"How stupid you are!" he exclaimed peeved.

"I told you so. Today I am the stupidest person alive!" she spoke a little debauched.

"Is that a kind of joke to you?" and he approached her about to explode.

"Look, prince, this might be the first time you hear a ‘no’ in your life, and you might not be used to it, but you should. Why would I fight in your behalf? Why would I use my father's men just to play the game of whom will sit in the throne or not? Why should I avenge the dead queen, your mother, when there is much more to do? Please, prince, think. The world does not spin around your royal navel!" and she stared him, watching his eyes burst into fire.

He then, impulsively, closed one of his fists around her neck and, with the other hand, he pointed his finger to her face.

"Watch your tone, woman, I might not be this merciful next time!" he said in an attempt to control himself from breaking her neck.

" _You_ better watch your actions, prince, for I might not be this merciful next time!" and she whistled.

The four dogs then growled getting close to them, ready to attack the man at the command of their owner.

"I am not a cruel person, but if you hurt me I will be pleased to order them to eat you alive. You know, they are half hounds and half wolves. And I trained them myself since their birth!" she smiled slightly.

Ivar then released her neck slowly as the four animals still growled.

"Fine!" he said between his teeth with his jaw clenched.

"Fine!" she said and then whistled again, making the dogs calm down.

She stood up after that and threw away the bloody water in the bowl. Isa then took the things off the wooden floor and put into the basket again, ready to get inside her home.

"Will you stay for supper?" she asked from the door and he looked at her as if she was insane. "I told you, today I am stupid!"

He said nothing, just crawled quite embarrassed to inside the place, following her steps.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, the song she sang is "Samain Night" and it belong to Loreena McKennitt. I beg you to listen to it. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard in my life!

"If you don't mind, I would like to take a bath before the meal. I will be in the other room, across the curtain. Make yourself comfortable while I get rid of the rest of the blood stains on my body!" she said politely and he nodded between his scowl, still unpleased by the way she talked to him earlier.

He wasn't used to the way she spoke to him. He thought of how disrespectful she had been with him and remembered of how polite and respectful she had been with Jorig, a simple blacksmith. He felt his blood begin to boil.

"If you feel thirsty, prince, there is wine in the goatskin beside the shields on the floor. You may drink it the much you want!" she said in her room while filling the tub with the rest of the cold water.

Isa lighted some candles, for the room started to get darker - the night was falling lazy but heavy. Finally, she got rid of her dress and entered into the tub.

"When the moon on a cloud cast night shone above the tree tops' height. You sang me of some distant past that made my heart beat strong and fast, now I know I'm home at last." she started to sing while cleaning herself with a sponge.

Ivar, that was drinking the wine, stopped and paid attention to her voice and the sound of the water drops touching the resting water around her body. He could only see the shadows of her actions through the curtain.

"You offered me an eagle's wing that to the sun I might soar and sing. And if I heard the owl's cry, into the forest I would fly and in its darkness find you by." she continued to sing now washing her hair with a soap with herbs.

He took a sip of the wine again.

"And so our love's not a simple thing nor our truths unwavering. But like the moon's pull on the tide, our fingers touch, our hearts collide. I'll be a moonsbreath from your side!" and her voice died.

After the bath, she dressed one of her finest garments and braided her hair as impeccable as possible. She also put some jasmine scent all over her skin. Finally, after that, she went to the main room to finish the supper that was cooking since before her bath.

"I hope you are hungry. I caught a fat hare earlier and leaved it seasoning with some vinegar plant and a few exotic spices that my brothers brought me from their last raid. I hope that the stew is well cooked. I roasted some potatoes too." she said getting some cymbals for them both.

Ivar got surprised.

"Here. Caution, for it is hot!" and she handed him the cymbal full of hare meat and potato.

And he took it.

Isa put some food for her too and then got two cooper cups to fill with wine.

"Come on, eat it!" she said beckoning for him and he ate.

As they were beside the hearth, she saw his surprised face when he started to chew. She giggled.

"Not too bad, right?" she said with a smile.

He shook his head as a no.

"This is really good!" he said with his mouth full "I thought you were not interested in such thing as cooking."

She laughed.

"What did you think that were my interesting, then?" she asked a bit curious.

"Obviously make blades, hunt, fight. Men things!" he answered a little awkward.

"Oh, prince, you are not that wrong, but I also love to cook and knit just like every other woman. I might not be good on both, but I try. Also, It brings joy to my mother and it keeps her away from my hidden forge." and she ate more hare.

Ivar ate fast so he could eat more.

"More!" he said full mouthed and Isa put more hare and potatoes in his cymbal.

"I am glad you like it, prince. I am really glad!" and she smiled.

He said nothing, just ate.

The rest of the meal occurred peacefully. Isa acted polite as always, serving the man when needed and talking to him as well.

"I am full!" he said resting on his chair.

"Oh, then you will not want the blackberries' sweet I made with honey?" she inquired taking the empty dishes to put inside the big bowl full of water.

"Are you trying to get me fat, woman?" he asked after a burp.

"Not really. But you are my guest, and the havámál says that we must care and treat really well our guests." she replied with a sincere grin.

Ivar pondered in silence.

"Then I will want it, but not now. I must rest a little. You got me full!" and he burped, sighing at the end.

"And I am glad that you liked my food to the point of eating almost all of it!" and she sighed as well, taking the Hnefatafl board and its pieces to put in the small table between them. "Do you want to play while we rest a little?"

The young man let a crooked grin escape from the corner of his mouth.

"Why not?!" he said sitting properly.

Isa sat on the wooden floor and started to settle the pieces in their right places. Ivar did the same.

"Do you want to start?" she asked choosing the king's side.

"How do you know that I do not want the king's side?" he asked crossing his arms upon the table.

"You came to me to ask me to join your little riot against the queen. That's why!" she giggled sipping from her cup.

He tilted his head a little and agreed in silence. He then started to play.

They played in silence until he was about to flank one of the few remaining guards of her king. He blabbed about how easy it was.

"Watch it again!" she said in an impish tone, one move away from the safe spot.

"How..." he was about to say after doing his movement, when she landed her king on the last left spot on her side.

"I won!" and she looked at him with a smile. "You were a fair opponent, prince. You almost won. No one ever did that!"

"I never lose!" he said looking to the board trying to see where he went wrong. "That wasn't fair. You tricked me with food to beat me!"

She laughed amused with his tone.

"Yes I did, then." and she sighed "Want to play again as a revenge?"

"Of course!" and he settled the pieces in their places again.

"Very well, you start!" and she supported her chin on the palm of her right hand.

Ivar started and the game lasted least this time but ended the same.

"How are you doing it?" he asked peeved. "I had you where I wanted and yet you managed to win!"

"Again, you were great!" she said filling his cup and then hers.

"Stop being so gentle. It is annoying!" he ordered as a spoiled.

"I can't. It is my nature!"

"Liar! I saw how your eyes shone when you threatened to feed your dogs with my flesh!" he taunted.

"We all have a dark side inside us, prince, but I chose to keep mine under control and light it up whenever possible!" she smiled.

"You chose to live under a leash!" he twisted his upper lip to show disgust.

"I chose to be wise and smart. Anger and ego will take me to the highest and richest mountain and will leave me there alone. I chose to be kind and take the ones I love with me, for when I reach the mountain, I will not be alone and unhappy!" and she touched her single braid after speak so proper and eloquently.

"You may die first." he emphasized.

"Then I'll die knowing that I did not hurt or mistreated anyone that did not deserve. I am sad because I killed that man today, but I regret nothing. It was him or me!" and she sighed deeply.

Ivar looked at how her face changed with the last phrase. He saw sadness between her kindnesses. Something then poked inside his chest.

"But that does not matter. Let's play again!" she said putting the pieces on their places once more. "I begin now!"

They played again, but, now, the man defeated her.

"No, you let me win!" he said angry, beating his hand on the table.

"I didn't!" and she stood up, ready to fetch the sweet for them both.

"Yes you did. Are you taking me as a fool?" he asked following her steps with his eyes.

"Maybe. Maybe not. You may never know!" she teased coming back with two little pots filled with blackberries and honey.

"You are a smug woman, Eraldsdottir!" he frowned.

Somehow, he wasn't really angry with her. She was gentle with him even when he didn't deserved, and that was new. Besides, it was just a game.

"I want to win in a fair way!" he said before eating.

"Then visit me more often. My door will be open to you as long as you come here without your plans and schemes. Take my house and company as a rest to your mind!" and she ate as well.

"Is that an invitation?"

"Of course. You are smart and a fine guest and you like my food. That's all I need from a good friend!"

"You are a mad woman, do you know that?" he asked eating more.

"Maybe. Or maybe it's because I am alone most of the time and no one can hold an interesting conversation for more than a few moments. I told you, you are smart. I like that!" and she glanced to his surprised eyes, seeing some of his internal ice wall melt a little.

"It is getting late." he said changing the subject.

"I can take you home if you don't mind to ride with me on my horse!" she offered.

"And how am I supposed to mount it? If you have not noticed, I am not exactly an example of horseman." he said ironic.

"I can help you to mount. I guess that I am strong enough for that!" and she gave him a crooked grin.

"I doubt!" he said and she saw him get cold inside.

She then long whistled and her dogs howled. Soon, a black horse came walking and stopped by her balcony.

"Come, you will mount first. I am afraid that you may mount by side as a lady in dress, but that may serve!" she said going outside to put the saddle on the horse.

Ivar thought that she was joking on him. He would never ride a horse and she would never put him on top of one.

"Come on, prince, you go on my front. This way I can hold you better!" she called him with her hand.

He hesitated embarrassed.

"Come, the moon will light our path! Do not be afraid!" she said sweetly.

And he crawled outside. He saw a chair waiting for him beside the animal.

"I want you to sit here just to be able to hold on me properly. I will help you to stand up!" she explained her plan.

"It will not work!" he rumbled.

"It will. We are high enough on the balcony for you to mount without any trouble. Besides, I used to use this trick as a small child. Come!" and she gave him her hand.

Ivar then sat on the chair as she said and Isa bowed so he could hold on her shoulders.

"Ready?" she asked close enough to his face to fell him breathing and he shook his head. "Trust me!" and she smiled even when he looked down. "One, two, three and..." she pulled him up and he stood up.

He couldn't believe in how strong she was. Isa then gave one step to their side.

"I want you to hold on the saddle so I can lift you up. You are welcome to help me with your strength!"

He nodded with eyes wide open and then grabbed the top of the saddle, ready to push himself up.

"Now!" she said lifting him up so he could sit on top of the horse.

"I did it!" he said as a happy child.

"Yes you did, prince!" she agreed happily running to close the hut's door and jump behind the lad. "Ready?" she asked on his back after securing his body with hers.

He nodded and she gave the command to the horse and it started to walk.

The horse walked in a good pace, not too fast, not too slow. It was good enough so they could be safe riding.

"Show me the way to your home, for I do not know it!" she said close to his ears.

"Can I conduct?" he asked somewhat innocent.

"Only if you keep the pace. Svaldifair loves to run and I bet he is just waiting for a chance!"

"Sure!" he said a little eager.

"Okay, then!" and she gave him the reins, holding the front of the saddle to keep her arms safely on his sides.

Ivar then, disobeying her condition, gave the command to the horse so he could run.

"Hey!" Isa complained a bit peeved.

"Mother never let me ride a horse. She said I would kill myself doing that!" he said with shallow breaths.

Isa couldn't see his face, but she knew that he was smiling. She then let him continue.

"Hold the pace, Svaldifair!" she said to the horse and he neigh as an answer.

After awhile, they saw the brothers’ hut close to the trees and the lake, with light inside it. With the sounds of the gallops, his brothers came outside to see who the visitor was.

"Brothers!" Ivar yelled euphoric, haughty as a knight.

The two men went scared.

"What are you doing, Ivar?!" his big brother asked fearful.

"I was riding, can't you see that?" he said smiling from ear to ear while the horse was stopping.

The two men then saw the young woman on his back, holding him in place.

"Eraldsdottir!"

"Prince Ubbe!" she said a little gasp when the horse stopped.

"What are you doing with our brother?" the other man asked.

"I brought him home safely. I was afraid of letting him come alone after the supper!" she said getting down the horse and getting ready to take Ivar out of the animal.

"So there is where you went!"

Before he could speak, Isa beckoned to him to jump to her - and he did. She caught him without much difficulty, for the two men's surprise.

"I caught you!" she said holding him on his feet, with her face close to his again.

Ubbe, seeing that his brother would hate to crawl after that, then gone to them and held him up.

"Thank you for bringing him home." he said.

"It was my pleasure." she said with a smile, tapping his shoulder.

"Thank you!" Ivar said for the shock of his brothers.

"Make yourself comfortable to visit me again, as I said!" and she took Svaldifair's reins to pull him to far from the hut.

She saw Ivar's eyes shine.

"I greet you good night, sons of the great king Ragnar!" Isa said with a smile after mounting her horse again, waving at them and then commanding her horse to walk.

The three men waved then, watching she ride back to the road.

"What was that?" Ubbe asked to his little brother.

"Nothing!" Ivar answered getting aware of the silly smile on his lips.

"You like her?" Sigurd insisted.

"It is not of your business, brother. Now, Ubbe, be a nice big brother and take me inside. I am getting cold and tired here!" and his brother did what he asked to.

Isa arrived home in a short time. Because she was alone, she let her horse run like the wind, just the way he loved to.

In that night, both Isa and Ivar went to bed thinking at how pleasant the night became after their little turmoil. It was a good night, after all.

Albeit the night was good, Ivar had a bad dream about it. He dreamt about everything almost just the same as it happened, except that instead of kindness, Isa had disgust about him. She acted like if he was a joke for her. He felt her contempt fall upon him and he could hear her laughs. "Of course I will not join forces with a crippled!" he heard she say "How will I pass through the gates of Valhalla after fighting beside you, Boneless?". Her voice echoed in his head as much as her laughs. "How can I manage to love someone like you? Huh? A worthless man with a worthless dick!" and she cast him out of her hut, whistling to her dogs so they could chase him and attack him. He woke up sweaty when he felt the bites all over his body. His heart was beating fast, almost in his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make it a love story, I'm sorry! haha ♥


	3. Chapter 3

Two days passed by and the dream was still in his mind - so vivid. Even on his favorite place close to one of the many river's arms, he couldn't get rid of the thought that Isa was just playing with him, that everything was just a joke for her.

"I waited for you yesterday and the day before. Have I done something that offended you?" the familiar voice asked getting close to him from his right side.

"I have more to do than pretend to be who I am not with you." he said harshly.

"Oh. I am sorry then. I thought that you had enjoyed that night. I was mistaken!" she sighed. "I will leave you and continue my path. Goodbye, prince!"

Isa then continued her walk to the river at the sight of where Ivar was. She walked a little sad, for she had thought that the prince had enjoyed her company as much as she had liked his. Her heart fell to the pits of her belly and the cold invaded her whole body.

She reached the river margin and then got her dress off. Wearing only her thin garment, she dove into the icy water. Somehow, she felt the urge to cry.

From the top of the hill, Ivar landed his eyes upon her, half immerse in the water. He saw her swimming and, apparently, crying while doing that. He got confused, more than ordinarily. He decided to go close to her to see if she was crying indeed.

"When the moon on a cloud cast night shone above the tree tops' height. You sang me of some distant past that made my heart beat strong and fast. Now I know I'm home at last." she was singing while trying to clean the tears on her face. "I am so stupid. No one could like a person like me, so why do I even try? I am a joke!"

Isa then slapped angrily her hands on the water.

"Isa and her beasts, they say, almost an animal herself. Raised to be a princess, but looks more like a monster. I curse the day that bear attacked me and did not killed me!" she kept talking to herself, touching the scars all over her back and belly, covered by the clothe.

When she was seven, she was wandering by the woods close to her home in Engoland, searching for blueberries and blackberries to bake bread for her mother as a surprise for her birthday. She found some of the little fruits nearby a river and then, coming from nowhere, a black bear attacked her. The bear had her severely injured when the earl finally found his young daughter agonizing close to the water. He killed the beast and ran with her on his arms as fast as possible to save her life. She had cuts all over her body, mostly on her back and belly, as well as in her head and face. After that, she grew up close only to her animals, avoiding the other children and the jokes upon her.

"Lady Bear, Lady Bear, why do you still care?" she kept saying while floating.

Ivar heard to everything in silence.

"How I was stupid thinking that someone like him would enjoy me the way I am. A smart and strong man, so interesting and unbendable." and she took a deep breath. "Maybe I am a monster indeed that should live with animals for the rest of my life. All I truly have are my blades and my dogs. Accept that, Isa, and the rest shall be fine!"

She dove again.

"Inside the water that flows away; my pain and sorrow shall stay!" she spoke as a charm before get out of the cold water.

Isa sat down by the river and then started to try to make fire to warm and dry her body. Her hands were shaking. Ivar, who was hidden behind a bush, decided to reveal himself and crawl to her - so he did it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked trying to cover herself with her cloak.

"I came to apologize." he just said.

"Is that a kind of joke? Is that a game to you?" she asked frowning. "Go ahead, laugh of me. I bet you heard from someone about me, the lonely lady bear. Right? Because the scary prince Ivar never apologizes. Never!"

He rolled his eyes and sat across her, taking his knife and a flint stone to set fire in the tree branches arranged by the young woman. He got a few sparks and then he blew softly so the fire could start finally.

"You did nothing that offended me." he said adding more wood in the fire.

"Then why did not you came to visit me again? I thought that you would like to. I mean, I am sorry. I do not have many friends and I thought that we were quite alike. I was wrong, I'm sorry!" and she stretched her arms to the firepit.

"Oh, shut up, woman. You did nothing." he said getting peeved.

"Sorry, the full moon makes my feelings get confused. I am a mess!" and she laid on the ground closer to the fire.

"That is why you are acting like a crazy woman?" he asked jocular.

"Well, I panicked. I liked to talk to you and I thought that I frightened you somehow. I am not an easy person to deal!" she said turning her head to see him.

He laughed out loud.

"What is the funny?" she asked frowning.

"You are adorable. You are like a lamb trying to act like a wolf!" he laughed even more.

"Are you serious?" and she sat up narrowing her eyes.

"See? Adorable!" he said looking at her in a way she never saw.

"Fuck you, prince!" she said with a scowl.

"Where is all your kindness, Eraldsdottir?" he teased.

"Oh you bastard. And I was feeling bad thinking that I had done something that offended you!" she growled crossing her arms under her small breasts.

"I like you more like that." he said taunting.

"I do not care anymore. You are playing with me and that is low!" and she grabbed her dress to put it on. "Go back to your revenge schemes and I will go back home to wait for my brothers' return."

Isa stood up and dressed herself properly, putting her cloak on her back.

"Sit down. You will get sick!" he said still grinning.

"Look, I know that I am just a silly joke. I am annoying and I know it!" and she gave two steps.

"Now I know why you don't have friends. Stop acting like a victim." he said grabbing her ankle.

"Look, prince, tell me that you are not seeing me as a joke or as a way to get more people to your revenge!" she sighed. "Tell me that that night was a good way to start a good friendship, that I am not fathoming things!"

"Why women are so complicated?" he asked with a growl. "No one ever spoke to me the way you do. If they do, I kill them!"

"Then go ahead, kill me!" she said kneeling beside him.

"See? You are giving knots in my head!" he growled again clenching his jaw.

"You got me confused as well since that night. I am broken and to let someone see it makes me naked even when I am dressed. And I let you see me the way I am; I am letting you see it right now!" she sighed feeling her heart racing.

"Why me, woman? Why not someone else?" and he grabbed her shoulders.

"Why did you came to me after what I did that day? It was not just because what I said to the queen. Why? It was really only because you saw me at Jorig's forge and got curious? Because I was odd enough to hold your attention?" she inquired speaking fast.

He did not know what to say.

"See? Not even you know why!" she continued getting cold. "Good luck with your plans, prince. Whenever you feel tired, just come by my hut so we can play hnefatafl again. It sound stupid now, but you will be welcomed anyways!" and she stood up getting free from his hands.

"Arght, why women are so confusing?" and he grabbed her ankle again. "Wait!"

"What?" she asked.

"I found you interesting. Happy?" he said as a long exhale.

Isa then sat beside him.

"See? That is why I invited you for supper that night. I found you interesting as well. I thought that you would not find me weird or crazy. I thought that we could talk about anything. That is why!" she confessed starting to tremble because of the cold.

He gone mirthless.

"You will get sick!" he said taking his own cloak and putting on her back. "What were you thinking to swim in this cold?"

"I always do that when I feel sad. I let the cold water take away my pain and my sadness. It usually works!" she sighed with a small grin.

"You are a crazy woman, did you know that?" and he hesitated to touch her in the back.

"It is the third time you say that, I guess!" she giggled.

"So that is true." and he growled.

"Thank you!" and she kissed his cheek as a sign of gratitude.

He blushed.

"Friends?" she asked after that.

He nodded finally touching her in the back to try to make her warm. She smiled.

"Good, because I catched a hog yesterday and you will like the way I cooked it!"

"You will get me fat!"

"You will need that for the winter and for when you raid to England again." she said trembling less.

"How do you know?" he asked wary.

"Father said that it is the right, for our king is dead. He said that he wants to join you and your brothers to avenge him!"

"And you? Oh, right, you do not kill, just threat!" he mocked.

"I may join my father this time. I want to discover new worlds, as I said to Jorig!" and she started to braid her hair again.

"What if you need to fight?" he teased.

"Then I will fight." she simply said.

He looked at her in disbelief.

"I know how to fight. I just rather not to do it!" she confessed again.

"Why?"

"I... I hate to lose the control over my dark side. That is why!" and she took a deep breath.

"You are adorable!" he laughed.

"Do not mock me!" she frowned.

"Why not? You do not want to go to Valhalla and feast with the gods? You rather go to Hel?" he teased.

"Of course I want, but not by slaughtering everyone and destroying everything. I want to give, not to take. I want to live with honor, I want to be able to change what needs to be changed!" she answered after awhile.

"But you are viking!" he protested.

"And yet I do not live in anger. Can't you see, prince? There is so much more in the world besides war and death. There is love and knowledge. There is kindness and compassion. I want more from the world, so much more!" she said with some glow in her eyes.

He pondered.

"And I know you want the same!" and she looked in the depths of his eyes and soul. "For we are the same!"

"We are not!" he said annoyed.

"You always want more. You want to prove yourself, to be worthy. You want to change the world you live in!"

"But I also want to kill almost everybody!" he added.

"That is a detail!" she giggled.

"Yet, I do not act like a meek christian, like you do. You know what? Now I like you less!" he said looking away with an ugly face.

"Shut your mouth. I am not a christian and I will never be. Odin is my only father and king, not the one that the monks tell about. I am a wolf, not a lamb!" she said haughty.

"Yet you do not kill. Stop pretending that you are a wolf. You will never be one!" he teased again.

Ivar and Isa looked like two old friends, talking stupidities, joking and teasing one another. It was new for them to find this kind of liberty. Two outsiders getting comfortable together.

"I do not care to seem weak. As long as I am in peace with myself, nothing will take away the strength inside me. Except you. You take my peace away!"

"Weeping baby!" he said trying to mask how mirthless he went.

"But I still want to sail England. Fighting or not, I will not die here!" and she smiled.

"Sure!" he grinned.

"Very well, then. Do you want to come? I still have that hog slowly cooking in my home." and she stood up in a jump.

"You will make me a slave of your food." he said with a bigger grin, ready to follow her.

"Maybe that was my plan all along!" she joked moving her brows up and down with an impish smile.

The days passed until the attempt of revenge against the queen. Ivar and Ubbe got help from an earl or other and, somehow, they managed to lock the queen inside the great hall. Isa wasn't there, for she was on her forge making a special knife. Ivar was the leader and he almost reached his goal. The only thing on his way was the arrival of his eldest brother, Bjorn. It looked like if the gods was joking on him again, the way they always did since his birth.

"Brothers!" Isa said seeing the two men coming towards her forge in the backs of the hut after the barks of her dogs.

Her heart went faster. See them alive and well was the most valuable gift of the day - so she dropped her tools and ran to hug them.

"Einar!" she hugged the tallest one, kissing his cheeks. "Anders!" and she did the same with the other one. "I am so happy to see you two safe and sound!"

"You cannot believe at the things we saw, sister!" Einar said kissing the top of her head.

"And the things we brought you!" Anders added repeating the gesture of his brother.

"Mother and father will be so happy to see you two!" and she took their hands to lead them home. "Come, I must finish this blade first, and while I do that, you two must take a bath. I will prepare a feast for us tonight!"

"We thank you, sister, but tonight we will feast in the great hall with the others. We must celebrate!" Einar said looking at his brother with a crooked smile.

"And you two want to fuck the women after the long time on the sea!" she giggled. "Fair enough!"

"But you will come with us!" Anders laughed.

"Fine. Now, you two go inside and clean yourselves. I will finish my work!" she said heading to the forge.

"Look at how bossy our little sister became, brother." Anders said jokingly.

"Just like mother!" Einar added laughing.

"And I will punch the both of you if you do not obey me. You guys are filthy and smelly. No woman will have sex with you two like that!" and she returned to work.

Isa worked on her forge until the sunset, when she finally finished the knife and went inside the hut to bathe. She saw the two men sleeping on her bed - clean and fresh - so she decided to bathe outside, taking the tub to be on the side of her forge. After that, she dressed herself in a fine dress and braided her hair as a queen. She also perfumed her skin with jasmine scent, getting ready to leave.

"BOYS!" she yelled throwing a pair of shoes in them, waking them abruptly.

She laughed hard with the scene.

"For Odin's sake, Isa!" Einar said throwing the shoe back.

"We may leave now, two beauties!" she said putting her bear fur on her shoulders and back.

"Finally!" and Anders put his furs as well after getting up with his brother.

"I see you there, brothers!" she said walking to outside the hut to mount on her horse and leave.

"What about us?" Einar screamed from where he was.

"You two can walk." she chuckled waving goodbye to them and leaving to town.


	4. Chapter 4

Isa rode fast, as if she was eager to meet the others and see what they have brought. She wasn't aware of what happened earlier that day, so when she did not saw her friend, she wondered where he was.

Almost everybody looked at her when she got down her horse. It was the very first time of her in a feast in Kattegat. She wasn't exactly the most festive person, even back home in Engoland. Isa used to be beside her mother most of the night and then go to bed before the music and the stories begin.

Isa searched for Ivar in silence, walking haughty as a doe, entering the hall to greet the queen and her son.

"Welcome home, prince Bjorn Ironside. I am glad to see you safe and sound as well as my brothers." she said in a curtsy.

He nodded proudly and she straightened up.

"Good evening, queen Lagertha!" and she bowed a little.

"Welcome, Eraldsdottir. It is a pleasure to finally see you here in other circumstance than a trial!" she said with a smile, bringing the past back.

"I hope not to be under judgment again. Never again!" she said politely.

"Come, drink. The night is just beginning!" she said beckoning to a servant to give the young woman some ale.

"Thank you, queen!" she said taking a sip.

Einar and Anders then arrived after a while and saw their sister standing alone in a corner.

"Are you okay?" Einar asked beside her.

"Sure. I am just observing." and she took one more sip.

"Who are you waiting?" Anders asked coming from behind his brother.

"No one. Actually, I am just thinking about how all the Ragnarssons are not here. I thought that everybody would be here!" she said looking around.

"You do not know what happened?" Anders asked and her blood ran cold.

"Of course not. I've been in my forge all day!" and she frowned.

"Ivar tried to kill the queen!" Anders continued "We arrived in the moment he was about to fulfill his threats!"

"By Allfather's beard. What a stupid lad!" she said taking her left hand to her forehead.

"You knew it?" Einar inquired narrowing his eyes.

"Not really. I mean, he tried to convince me to join him and then he always said how he wanted to kill the queen, but I thought that it was just a shallow threat." she said frowning.

The two men looked at each other clenching their jaws.

"How close you became of that boy?" Einar asked peeved.

"What? You are not thinking that I am fucking with him. Are you?" she retorted offended. "I am not a whore!"

"How close, Isa?" Anders insisted.

"We are friends. That is all. I like to play hnefatafl and talk to him. And we eat together. We are friends, that is all!" she said blushing.

"You better be saying the truth, sister, because we do not want to kill that boy for messing with you!" Einar said taking her mug and drinking from it.

"Sure, brother, sure. But I can take care of myself, thank you. And you know that. And who I befriend or not is my business, remember that!" she said taking her mug back.

"You better hope that we never discover that you gave him your maidenhood, because we will kill him!" Anders added making the ugliest face he could.

"I am not that little helpless girl anymore, brothers. One day I will find my place and you two will marry. You two will father children and have your lives. I love you both, but I can mind my own business and live my own life." and she kissed their cheeks, caressing their faces.

"But..." Einar was about to say when Isa interrupted.

"He is not the monster you think he is. I can protect myself and you know that. And I bet that you two will discover that this is true when you hear the gossips about me. After all, I am the Lady Bear, right?" and she drank the rest of her ale. "Now, you better find fine women to spread your seed. Go have sex and drink the whole night!"

"Fine!" they said together, kissing her cheeks at the same time and leaving.

Isa then had her mug filled again. Her heart was tight in worry for the prince. It was when she saw Sigurd sat on a table and decided to go to him.

"Excuse me, prince Sigurd, but where can I find your brother?" she asked polite.

"Isa!" he said surprised. "I advise you to stay away from him tonight. He probably is throwing things and acting like a wild animal by now at home. Leave him alone tonight!" he said friendly.

"I thank your concern, prince Sigurd. I really do." and she smiled kindly.

Sigurd smiled as well and watched her leave to walk around the hall. She blended with the crowd. After awhile, she wasn’t seen anymore, but no one cared. The music was loud, people were dancing and fighting and singing. Everybody was busy somehow.

Isa gone outside the palace with her mind made. She found her horse and rode to the known cabin close to the lake. Svaldifair was faster that night, like he was eager too. When she approached the wooden place, she heard screams on the inside, along with things getting broken. Sigurd was right.

"Prince?" she called from the door, hesitating to open it.

"Go away!" he yelled furious.

She took a breath and opened the door. Ivar was on the floor, crawling like a vicious snake, growling like an angry dog. Her heart went cold. She decided to be still and wait, sat on the floor under the door portal. She was scarred, but she tried to remain calm.

"I said go away!" he yelled again looking at her as a possible target.

She said nothing and he got angrier. Ivar then crawled at full strength to hit on Isa where she was. She did not move. And when he was about to strike her, he stopped just a palm away, puffing as a mad bull.

"Go away!" he growled in low tone, making his voice reverberate inside his chest.

Isa looked at him and he was looking down, burning in his own fire - and she did something impulsive, hugging him as tight as possible. He refused the embrace, but she did not let him go.

Her hands, punished by the work, full of calluses and blisters, touched his back and strongly held him still. She felt no need to speak, for her acts were enough. His breath, still out of rhythm, became deeper. He was being consumed by his own flames. Isa then decided to run the fingers of her right hand through his hair, showing him that she would be there for him.

"Why you did not go away?" he said with his voice muffled on her chest.

She remained silent, arranging his head over her right shoulder, still petting his hair, breathing slowly. He accepted her actions reluctantly. Bit by bit, he calmed down and, in the silence, he found some comfort.

"I made you something!" she finally broke the muteness.

He grumbled.

"Food again?" he asked with eyes closed.

"No." she smiled. "I do much more things besides cooking!"

"Hum..."

"Let's go inside so I can show you. My ass is almost numb here on this wooden floor!" she pointed out opening her arms so he could leave.

Isa stood up and entered the cabin, closing the door behind her and then going to sit beside the young man.

"My brothers told me what happened. I am sorry!" she said before sit down, taking her bear fur out.

He looked away and she then sat in the bench.

"As I was saying, I made you something and I hope you like it!" and she reached the edge of her skirt and lifted it to her knees, showing a medium sized knife in a sheath attached to her right calf. She unlaced it and then handed it to him. "I hope you like it!"

He held the object and unsheathed the blade. His eyes traveled through each detail, every single tiny detail and his eyes lit.

"You made this? All of this?" he asked unbelieving.

"Yes. I... I thought that you might like a new knife, a different type. I used what Jorig taught me and added a few more things." and her cheeks went red.

"And it cut?" he twisted the blade between his fingers.

"It cuts until the bone!" she answered with a smile. "And I marked the steel with my rune, if you want to know."

Ivar looked and saw Ansuz engraved.

"I thought your rune was your name!" he looked at her with doubt.

"Ansuz makes me centered. It gives my mind strength. Albeit I thought to give you Raidho, Ansuz made more sense, once you are still confuse about many things. Although, when you achieve your balance, I will gladly engrave Raidho for you, to protect and enhance your future journeys!"

"You keep surprising me!" he said as a whisper, but she heard and smiled with the words.

"Did you liked it?" she asked idly.

He nodded.

"Thank you!" he said, for her shock.

"It was my pleasure." and her voice died.

Isa forgot that her legs were showing, so the lad saw her naked skin.

"The bear did it?" he pointed.

She nodded covering her legs again. She got embarrassed.

"May I see it closely?" he asked putting the knife aside.

Isa hesitated, breathing deeply.

"They are just scars!"

"Then let me see them!" he insisted.

She took a breath and lifted the edge of her skirt to the knees again, stretching her right leg on his lap, turning a little to show her calf. There were two straight thick lines crossing her flesh horizontally. He touched them.

"How it felt like to be so close to die?" he asked following the other scars up to her thigh.

"I can not remember well. Everything happened so fast. I heard the roar, louder than anything I've ever heard and then I saw the giant bear standing still in front of me. It was a huge animal, but I was not scared at all." she was saying while he was softly drawing her scars with the tip of his fingers. "I still can not understand why I was so calm. The bear was furious, ready to devour me, to rip my flesh and break my bones. And, again, everything happened really fast. I blinked and then it was ripping my skin viciously. The last thing I remember was to see a man across the river looking straight over me. His light was something I have never seen in my whole life. Then everything went black."

"You were braver than me, then." he said as a sigh, ashamed.

"How?" she asked confused.

"Back in the sea with my father, I screamed and cried like a stupid little child. I should have died there. What a shame I am!" he confessed so embarrassed and so mirthless.

Isa saw him shrink on his seat, apparently fighting his own demons, his moral compass. He was such a mess.

The bond created between them two was something beyond reason. Somehow, her kindness and care made something grow inside the lad - it was respect on its purest form. Somehow, they were comfortable enough to not pretend anything else in the presence of one another.

"I was just a child that had recently lost a brother. I was aware of death and its path. I desired so much to follow Ian beyond the veil, that I guess that I just embraced my fate that day." and she touched the bear fur dropped on the bench beside her. "But you, my friend, was not ready to die. You still not are. You know, somehow, that the gods still have many glorious thing prepared for you. You shall be king!"

Isa smiled as if she was saying the prettiest truth in the whole world. Ivar looked at her and, unconsciously, pressed his hand against her right thigh just above her knee. She felt the warmth of his grip.

"Ian was your big brother?" he asked dumbly trying to change the subject.

"We born together. He came first to this world and leaved the same way. He was not a strong kid. It seems that all the strength came to me, for I was bigger than him. But he was smart and our bond was just..." she sighed "He was my best friend in the whole world. He was me, but as a boy!"

Ivar then started to caress her knee without noticing.

"He got ill. A deep fever took him away when we were six!" and she looked away taking a deep breath to avoid her crescent tears.

The silence fell upon them and, not noticing, Isa put her left leg on Ivar's lap too while she was looking up to the ceiling and her tears were rolling down her cheek.

"I am sorry for telling you this sad story, prince. I should be comforting you, not otherwise." and she looked at him forcing a soothing smile.

"Stop apologizing this much, it makes me mad!" and he frowned.

"As you wish, future king!" she giggled with her words and his reaction, for he slapped her thighs when he noticed her joking tone.

"Ouch!" she giggled louder.

"You do not feel pain?" and she shook her head. "All right then!" and he slapped stronger.

"Ouch!" she said mockingly still giggling.

"How..." and he growled looking at her with doubt.

"I feel less pain than the rest since this bear cut me deep on my back." and she pointed to the fur.

"It explains why you swim in the cold river and do not complain. That might be useful!" and he pinched the side of her left leg.

"The healer said that I would not be able to feel pleasure either. But that does not matter, I do not want to marry anyway!" she shrug.

"It means that you will fell nothing if I bite you to the point of ripping your meat?" he asked in a defiant tone.

"Probably not. Bite me then, I know you want to. Your curiosity will kill you if you don't!" she laughed holding at the seat of her chair.

He devilishly grinned and bent forward to look for a peculiar spot to sink his teeth in. He saw a small place between light and old scars.

"Close your eyes!" he ordered bossy.

She obeyed finding that situation amusing and exciting.

"Why are you taking so long?" she asked eager and heard a chuckle as an answer.

Right after that, she felt a pressure close to her inner thigh, on her thin skin, and she bounced a little in surprise.

"That was nice... but I thought that it would be stronger!" and she opened her eyes to see the mark of his teeth and a trail of blood coming from it. She laughed hard.

"Nothing?" he asked curious with some blood on his lips.

"It felt like a kiss to me. I told you, I can not feel pain the way most people do!" and she retracted her leg to see the bite closely.

"Unbelievable!" he said about to bite the other thigh stronger and more up. She giggled with his action.

"Stop making me bleed. My brothers already want to beat you and if they see me bleeding between my thighs they will think that you fucked me and took away my maidenhood!" she warned still laughing.

"Why they want to beat me? Are they nuts?" and he bit her again but in other spot.

"Anders and Einar saw me searching for you in the feast and then they told me about what happened earlier. I told them that you are my friend, but they are jealous the same way. You know, they are protective big brothers!" she explained and he kept biting her thigh more up, a little bolder.

"They should stop threatening me on my back. They are your brothers, but yet I will not mind to kill them if I must to..." he said serious looking up with his lips still close to her flesh.

Suddenly, she got chills with his warm breath in contact with her skin wet by his saliva. It was a surprise.

"Do not worry. It was a shallow threat, for I know that they already forgot about it. They must be still fucking women and drinking mead. They probably will not even sleep at home!" she said inflamated with a huge smile of joy.

Ivar stopped his game bluntly.

"Bored already?" she teased and he dropped her leg away.

He cleaned some of the blood on his lips, as if something has poked him inside.

"What happened, prince?" she inquired a little concerned.

He shook his head as if he did not wanted to talk anymore.

"Oh, prince..." and she retracted her left leg to see what he done. "There is no need for this scowl."

"Shut up!" he said resting on the chair still looking away.

"You marked me for life..." she said touching her bleeding wounds.

He looked at her and saw her little smile glowing in the corner of her mouth.

"Would you let me mark you as well?" she asked a little innocent but with a crooked grin.

"No!" he replied haughty.

"Oh, please... I want to leave a mark on you so you can remember me when I'm gone. I can bite you where only you can see." she said not serious at all, but he thought a little about it.

Isa parted her lips with the marvelous possibility of his consideration.

"What is your answer? Remember, no one ever touched me the way you did." she tried to coarse him.

He rolled his eyes and then lifted his tunic a little, just enough to show a glimpse of his belly.

"This might be interesting..." he said trying to look bored.

Isa blushed and then knelt beside him, looking up a little shy. She bit his skin, but not strong enough to hurt him. He looked down in doubt. Isa then kissed the slight marks of her teeth.

"I thought that you wanted to make me bleed!"

"I could never hurt you, Ivar!" and she sat back on her ankles.

He felt a cold shiver went down his spine when he heard she say his name for the first time.

"Say that again!" he ordered serious.

"I could never hurt you, Ivar!" and she smiled blushing, almost glowing.

"This is the first time you say my name." he pointed trying to keep his face shallow. "Why?"

"Well, I thought that after this, I could call you by the name. Does it annoys you?" and she touched him with her finger tips where her lips touched him before.

Ivar went mirthless but did not let her notice.

"It is getting late. I must go home, for soon I will be going to Engoland!" and she pushed her chair close so she could sit in.

"Already?"

"I was allowed to be here until my brothers' return. They are here, so I must return with them to my kin." and her smile died.

"You should stay." he said in low tone as a suggestion.

"I wish I could, but father will forbid it. Mostly because of what I did that day, killing that man. But I will miss you, if you want to know!" she confessed quite clumsy.

Isa saw his face close in a thoughtful look. She knew that he would not say anything, not him.

"Therefore, farewell for now, my friend!" and she leaned forward to kiss his cheek, but he turned in time just to feel her lips on his.

Tenderly and idly, she kissed him sweetly after the shock of their lips. It was without any malice, for her feelings was pure.

"I hope to see you soon and before the raid upon England!" she said as a whisper after parting their lips and touching his hands.

He said nothing, as always.

"Farewell, Ivar!"

Isa stood up and put her bear fur on, leaving the hut without looking back. Outside, she mounted her horse and rode home with her heart tight.

Ivar wasn’t understanding what was going on inside him. It was extremely new for him to wish so much a thing. Not a thing. A person. A woman. The woman. He knew that falling in love was to foolish people. He would never fathom the idea of enjoying someone that way. He was the chaos and she was the peace. He never wanted peace, for his spirit was built for war. But she gave him glimpses of different lives, different choices. And she was so smart, so clever. She owned his heart - that thing that poked him many times in her presence. However, he would never admit that.

That night, neither of them slept. Isa would leave at the dawn and there’s nothing he could do about it. However, Ivar decided to go to her home and just watch her leave. He saw her at the first lights of the day, dressed again as a queen.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a big smile walking towards him who was sat under the oak tree.

"Come back soon!" he said serious as an order.

"Wait for me. I told you that my fate is not here, for I must discover new worlds, and we shall do it together, Ivar!" and she touched his lips with hers passionately.

"I want you!" he said between the kiss.

"Wait for my return!" she whispered after awhile, looking at the bottom of his icy blue eyes, blushing.

"Do not forget me!" and he grabbed her face with both hands, as if trying to hold her there longer.

"Never!" she kissed him again before her brothers angrily yell at her to hurry. "Do not forget me!"

"Never!" and his hands got tighter around her, for he was not ready to let her.

"ISA!" Anders yelled at her ready to go to them and Ivar looked at him with wrath.

"Let me go!" she giggled and kissed him quickly, holding his hands and forcing him to release her face.

Isa then left him and mounted Svaldifair, waving goodbye to the lad.

"Just a friend, you said!" Einar said peeved.

"Father will know about it!" Anders complemented in same tone.

"Do what you want, brothers!" she said with a debauched laughter, happy for what had just happened, giving the command to her horse to gallop.


	5. Chapter 5

Two months passed since their farewell. So little time, but so much had changed. Earl Erald and his heirs came to Kattegat by land while his boats were still far. Anders stayed home to protect the earldom and his mother whilst Isa and Einar followed their father to the eternity and glory of their names.

Isa was different. She was more confident than never and now she was always carrying her sword.

"Where are you going?" her father asked when he saw her heading to a different path.

"I am going home." she answered shallow.

"No, we are going to meet the queen first!" Einar said what his father was about to say.

"Fuck the queen!" and Svaldifair ran fast.

"She is going to see that boy, isn't it?" Erald asked to his son and he nodded in disapproval.

The earl was not pleased. Although he loved the deceased king, to give his daughter in a possible marriage to a half man was not in his plans.

Isa passed through the city just to see if Ivar was there – and he was not. She then thought that he would be in only one place - Jorig's forge.

"My lady!" the blacksmith said from the outside.

"Jorig, is good to see you!" she lightly nodded.

"I guess that you are here for a single reason. Get in!" he said beckoning to the inside of his workshop while holding her horse.

"Thank you!" she said getting down and finally walking.

When she entered the half-lighted place, she distinguished two blue orbes from across the flames.

"Prince!" she called as a melody and his eyes met her.

He looked at her in somewhat shock, not knowing if he should smile or just observe at how beautiful she was.

"I told you to wait for my return, didn't I?" she proudly spoke approaching him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked realizing that she was on her own.

It was known that Earl Erald would arrive in Kattegat that day along with his sons. Seeing Isa standing right there was a surprise.

"I came to join the army. Your army. As I said!" and she lifted her chin quite cocky.

"Where is your father?" he asked dubious, narrowing his eyes.

"He is probably kissing the queen's arse right now. Just like my brother Einar!" she sighed in reproval.

Ivar held a giggle.

"And why are you not there with them and with the queen?" he kept questioning.

"Fuck the queen." she said out loud taking a deep breath and looking at him bored.

Ivar chuckled quite amused with her tone.

"Is that enough? Or you want to ask me more bullshit before I can hug you?" she inquired widening her eyes quickly at the end as a trying of persuasion.

"Who are you, haughty woman? What have you done with that gentle woman I've met months ago?" he asked jokingly pretending that he was hurt somehow by her words.

"I beated her and ate her with some mead. She was quite delicious. Or, perhaps, she is still here, hidden somewhere out of the reach of her father's wrath!" she answered mockingly.

"Oh..." Ivar reacted with an impish face. "I like you more like this!"

"You like me anyways, no matter how I act!" and she gave a few steps to get closer to him.

"You gave up to control your dark side?" he asked in low tone with a grin as she got just a few inches from him.

"Maybe. Or perhaps I am just teasing you, luring you to a trap. Who knows? I am still out of my mind since our last goodbye!" and she danced her fingers on the side of his head.

"I thought it was since I went to your hut that night..." he said looking up to see her face, making his throat exposed.

Isa touched his neck with her left hand and felt him shiver.

"Do not be such convinced, prince." she laughed.

"You changed."

"And so do you. We are no longer those foolish young. We are grown ups now. You are about to make history and I am about to face the battle for the very first time." and she sighed at the end, as if refusing what she had become.

"I thought that you do not kill." he teased and her smile fade away.

"I..." she was about to pronounce her thoughts when she heard gallops coming from the outside.

"Isa!" the familiar voice almost screamed before getting inside the place.

Einar was furious, for his father was furious.

"Come, now!" he said to his sister furrowing his brow to the man beside her.

"Not now!" she said not turning around to face him.

"I said, come now, little sister. Father demands your presence!"

"Listen, brother, I love you from the bottom of my heart, but if you keep pushing me, I will break your face in a way that even mother will not recognize you!" she snarled looking over her shoulder.

"No threats of yours will make me return without you. You can talk to your friend in another time!" and he almost spat on the floor saying the word 'friend'.

"Oh, brother, you don't even know how I hate you now!" she deep breathed scowling and finally turned around to leave the place.

Einar looked at Ivar with hate inside his eyes and the man did not looked away or weakened. On the contrary, he grinned at him devilishly before close his face in a murderous, ferocious scowling.

Isa rode her horse faster than her brother, peeved about his overprotection.

"Wait!" he yelled at her, riding as fast as possible to reach her.

"Fine, say whatever you want to say. Tell me how fool I am for caring about him. Say how father will make everything to keep me away from him!" she spat pissed.

"I care about you because I love you sister. He is a mad man. Don't you... Don't you know that he almost killed a slave while in his bed? He almost choked her to death!" he explained now beside her, with her horses motionless

"What? Who said that?" she quarried suspicious.

"Everybody. Anders made me swear to keep you away from him. You are our little sister and we do not want to see you dead by his hands!" he puffed.

Isa halted and thought a bit.

"Does father knows?" and she bit her cheeks.

He denied.

"Therefore, do not tell him. You do not know how my relation with Ivar is, so, please, let me keep it going. I know what I am doing and if the things get out of my control, I promise you that I kill him with my own hands!" and she sighed, grabbing her nape and squeezing it nervous.

"Isa..."

"Please, my brother..."

And the man gave in, touching her shoulders in support to her words.

"If he hurt you, I will torture him myself!" he whispered before smile soothingly to his sister, gaining a kiss on his cheek.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the time away. I was quite busy these days. I wrote a little, and I hope it is enough for now. Enjoy! ^^

"He will not!" she said almost without voice, making her horse gallop.

Earl Erald was unpleased with his daughter's manners. But, after what he did with her when he heard what she has done, killing the brother of an important merchant, it was to be expected.

"Isa! Where were you?" he asked harshly when she got down from the horse.

"Not now, father!" and she passed straight by him, going inside the palace to, finally, pay respect to the queen.

After doing her duty, she sat down and simply waited for the end of the evening. Finally, when it found its end, she were able to just escape for a few moments just to see the moonlight.

Her heart was heavy like a bundle full of stones. The cold within her was killing her natural fire.

"I ask your guidance, allfather. I do not want to be a monster. I do not want to kill anymore. Please, help me to understand what I am about to face!" she said to the wind while sat ontop of the hill nearby the city.

Tears fell from her sad eyes.

"I do not want to be a monster!" she repeated.

"But you are not!" the familiar voice said getting closer.

She looked over her shoulder and saw those piercing blue eyes staring back at her with such doubt.

"What have they done with you?" he asked concerned, finally sitting beside her.

She said nothing. She just hugged his torso in an attempt to get lost inside his arms.

"What happened, Isa?" and he held her body close enough, feeling her almost crushing his bones.

She was crying like a child.

"Look at me!" he demanded while feeling quite scared.

She obeyed and he saw that she was even more broken.

"I killed innocent men and women. I was obliged to raid with my father after what I did with that man. I was forced to kill. I am a monster, Ivar!" she sobbed while still crying.

"Listen to me, Isa. You are no monster. You are no beast. You are the best... the best thing that ever happened to me!" he whispered in the end.

"I am not. Can't you see how I suffer when I should not?" and she looked down.

"You are the light of my thoughts, Isa. Can't you see what you've done to me?" and he forced her to look at him. "You marked me in a way no one ever did. I still feel the burning touch of your lips on my skin whenever I close my eyes!"

And, in an impulse, she kissed him.

"All my life I've been waiting for someone like you!" she said still close from his lips. "My arms are mine. My lips are mine. My heart is mine. But it seems that I am not. It seems that I am yours. I have always been!"

She sighed while hugging him tight again, placing her head in the gap of his neck and his shoulder.

Ivar felt his heart ache. It was a piercing pain, little and yet annoying. But he did nothing but tight his arms around her.

"I am sorry for saying such things. You may not feel the same, but I could not keep it inside me. You make me feel complete." she spoke while slowly dancing her fingers on his back, feeling each muscle tremble at her touch.

"I..." he tried to say, but his voice became shy for the first time.

"You don't have to say a thing. Just do not cast me away now. Please, let me be with you a little longer!" she asked squeezing him and, as an answer, he started to intertwine his fingers in her hair, touching her scalp tenderly almost like a small ritual.

After a while in silence, they heard dogs howling and she knew that it was time for her to head home. Although she didn't want to, she moved a little away from him, just enough to admire his intense gaze and, with passion, kiss him a passionate goodbye.

"I thank the gods everyday for they put you on my path!" she said against his lips while running her fingers through his nape.

"Are you trying to fish my heart? First with your food, then with your kindness. So you soothe me in my tides of chaos and then you leave me. Then you return and make me so happy, and, now, you say these words. I cannot even speak the way you did. How can I put my thoughts out of my head and heart the way you did? It is unfair!" he sighed, finally speaking.

"Just to know that you think about me is enough, my war prince!" and she kissed him once more.

"It is not. I want to tell you how you make me feel, but..."

"Isa!" the echo found their ears and the young woman growled.

"I will make Einar suffer in such a way that he will regret of being alive!" she thought in loud voice while with her eyes closed.

"You want me to..."

"There is no need. I love my brothers with all of my heart and I would gladly die for them, but lately they are being a pain in my ass. Since they heard that you..."

"Isa!" the echo found them again, interrupting her.

"That I what?" he asked curious, frowning.

"That you almost killed that slave in your bed. They fear for my well being." and she took a deep breath.

He twisted his lips and closed his face.

"Yet, I fear you not. Besides, you would get tired just trying to hurt me and not being succeeded." she smirked in an attempt of making him come back to the past state of spirit.

"You are one of a kind!" and he kissed her with hunger, making their lips get swollen.

"Can I visit you at the first light of the day tomorrow?" she asked almost breathless.

"You can come even before if you want to. I want to... to wake up next to you. I want you to be the first thing I see in the morning. You are so precious, my..." he was finally saying when Einar yelled again.

"Wait for me then. You have me, entirely, deeply, madly. Thank you for coming to my hut that day, even with your revenge plots. Thank you for staying with me!" and she kissed him one more time before getting on her feet and head home, finally.

Isa grabbed the reins of Svaldifair and then started to walk towards her brother. Einar was still calling for her.

"Stop acting like a mad old woman, Einar." she said when she saw him.

"Where were you?" he asked before seeing her swollen eyes and lips.

"It's not of your business!"

"You were with that boy, weren't you?" and his face closed. "How many times I have to tell you..."

"You are not my father. You are not my mother. Lately I don't even know if you are my brother, for you keep torturing me. Are you liking it, Eraldson? Is it amusing enough to you?" and she growled.

Her four dogs then came to meet her, for Einar had let them free to find their leader.

"Watch your tone, sister. You don't want to trample on our family just because of a crippled bastard!" he retorted peeved.

"YOU better watch your tone, Eraldson, for if he hear you saying such things, he'll kill you and I will do nothing about. I love you, but I don't know anymore if it is enough to endure all the things you've been doing to me." she mounted her horse.

Einar closed his fists, angrily, in hate.

"You made me a monster, now handle it!" and Svaldifair ran after she command him to. The four dogs followed them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being so reckless lately, but I'm writing as much as possible. I hope you enjoy this little smut (?)...

Isa got into the hut making no sound, like a cat, furtive, way before the sun comes out. Her heart was drum in a solstice, beating fast and loud. A rush of feelings passing through her and, yet, she was calm. The cold was nothing for her, dressed only with thin garment and her bear fur over it.

Walking as a goddess, she saw the prince laid on a bed, away from his brothers. Although he was sleeping deeply and calmly, his face was still a scowl - his frown brows and clenched jaw made him look dangerous.

"Ivar..." she whispered stepping into the bed and then kneeling beside him.

She then laid down and got under his furs after putting her bear on the bed end.

"My prince..." she called again in the same tone, but now touching his left ear with her lips.

"Isa?" he murmured still with eyes closed, turning to her direction.

"Yes, my prince. I said that I would come, didn't I?" and she grinned.

"Am I dreaming?" and he grinned as well.

"Open your eyes then, my love!" and she kissed the center of his forehead before his eyes open.

His eyes were the prettiest thing in the whole world. Isa almost fainted with the close view. Ivar smiled like a child.

"How..." he was about to say.

"I am sneaky when I want to. And, for you, light of my world, I could enter in Fafnir's cave and kill him without getting caught a thousand times." she giggled.

Ivar giggled as well and, smiling, pulled her closer and kissed her softly. Isa, with her mind made, then mounted the lad and made the kiss more passionate.

"What are you doing?" he asked a little suspicious.

"I have this... I have this fire inside me, this raging fire burning my guts whenever I think about you. And now, before our leaving, before everything, I want to have you inside me. I want you to be the first." and she sat on him and bit her lower lip.

"You know that Einar will want to fight me, right?" and he smirked loving the idea and the view.

"I want Einar to suck a cock. My cunt is mine and no man can tell me who will fuck me or not. And I want to feel you as deep as possible inside me!" she said in a different way, a new one, the one that made Ivar open his eyes in deep surprise.

"And you want it now, with my brothers sleeping right there?" and he pointed to them with a mischievous look.

"And there is a better way?" she grinned sly, pulling her dress up to pass it over her head and throw it to the ground.

"I really like your new self." and his hands found her waist.

Isa parted her lips and licked it before speak.

"Do you want me to be loud? Do you want me to wake them?"

He pondered the idea.

"I can make your brother's wife regret her life if you want to..." she giggled. "You know... I bet that you will make me feel everything, even with my pleasure/pain issue."

"Why are you so sure?" he dared.

"I know you are as thirst as I am. And, well, I bet you fuck hard, and I can't expect less than that from you. Not when we are so hungry for each other..." she bit her lower lip again.

Ivar, with a crooked smile, then slapped her ass, squeezing her cheeks and pressing her down.

"Shall we begin?" and she bent over him, kissing him hungrily, touching his belly and pulling his tunic up to get rid of it.

After taking his clothe off, she admired his bare chest and sighed. Slowly, she scraped her nails on his skin, making him shiver. Underneath her, something got stiffer, what made her wiggle over it, making him sigh as well.

"You know that I never did it, right? Not even playing." she said in a teasing tone, still moving upon him.

"You are perfect..." he dared to say a little out of his mind already.

"Good. Now, I want to..." she was saying while traveling her hand down his belly just to feel him getting harder.

Without ceremony, she grabbed his growing member and moved her fingers a little to adjust to his girth.

"You can touch me too. Here..." and, with her other hand, she leaded his right hand to the gap between her thighs under the furs.

His eyes traveled by her body and his mouth opened in delight.

"May I?" she asked touching his trousers, ready to take them off.

Hesitant, but not caring anymore, Ivar nodded and she took off the piece of clothe. Now, skin on skin, both feelings was storm. But a summer storm, a raging one, full of beauty and passion.

"Come, fuck me!" and she giggled with her words, changing their positions, opening her legs enough to welcome him.

The first sensation for both was electric. Then, when he finally reached her very end, filling her at the edge, everything got bigger.

Ivar touched her face, sliding his thumb over her lips, mesmerized with her reactions at every movement of his. She licked it and then started to suck it without deviate her gaze. He smiled and hit her stronger, deeper, making her bounce and suck him even more.

Isa started to moan loud, feeling her fire gain strength and burn her inside out.

"Stronger..." she asked in a sigh, moving her body to find his rhythm.

Ivar smirked and did what she said. His hair, once braided softly, fell lose over his shoulders and part of his face.

"I wish you could see yourself through my eyes..." Isa said pulling him for a soft kiss.

And, with a fluid movement, she changed the positions again. Now mounting him, she started the ride. Up and down, beginning the gallop; moaning louder and louder, smiling and making the bed screak with her pace.

"Ivar, is that you?" one of the brothers asked from across the room.

The lad didn't answered, he just moaned when Isa bitted his neck and grabbed his back, pulling him to sit too.

"Are you thinking about that girl again?" Ubbe asked now sitting on his bed before looking towards the young man.

"Oh, I hope the girl he's speaking about is me..." she said stopping and looking at his eyes.

Ubbe then gazed on their direction, getting surprised with the scene.

"There is no other, trust me."

"I hope there is no other indeed. Otherwise, I would be forced to kill her while you're watching." she said serious at first, but then she laughed.

"Sure you would." and while his lips found hers, his hands started to move her hips.

The dance then started again. Ivar reached her breasts and sucked one at time, biting them and leaving red marks, even bruises. Isa dropped her jaw and closed her eyes while he was working on her skin with his mouth.

Meanwhile, Ubbe, now wide-awake, threw a pillow on his brothers to wake them to see the show. He could not be the only one to see that. Sigurd and Hvitserk awoke just in time to see the final acts.

"We have eyes on us..." she said a little mischievous.

Ivar then changed the position again, ready to make her moan and call his name.

He went wild, just the way she expected to. With one hand, he grabbed her left thigh harshly and, with the other, he pinned her right hand on the mattress, fucking her with the vitality of a stallion. Isa kept moaning and, after a few moments, she jutted up her chin, making her neck exposed. She was about to find her apex. Ivar then bit her.

"Ivar!" she called for him and her body trembled, making her fire gain a new color, falling from herself.

She then came back just in time to see his pretty face change along with his noises. He groaned and soon she felt him pulse inside her, warming her.

"I love you." she whispered when he fell over her.

"I love you more!" he replied at the same tone, with his face hidden on her brown hair.

"Can we sleep now or the kids will continue fucking?" Ubbe asked.

"We don't know yet. Perhaps you should fuck your woman, I bet she is awake as well!" Isa said cocky looking over Ivar. "Oh, and, hello. I'm sorry to wake you!"

"Do as she said, brother. And she is not really sorry about waking you, she is just trying to be polite." and Ivar looked to the man haughty.

Ubbe then laid down again and embraced his wife. Hvitserk and Sigurd kept looking at them, shocked.

"Liking the view, guys?" Isa asked looking back at the two.

"Hey, look away, she is mine!" Ivar said in a demanding tone and, unwillingly, they laid down too.

Isa stroked his face, taking his attention to her.

With her head in the gap of his neck, she danced her fingers on his chest. Inside his arms became her new favorite place.

"I am yours..." she whispered and kissed his ear.

In that moment, he smiled widely, knowing that that was true.

"And my heart is yours!" he said back kissing her forehead.

The sleep found them after a short time, and, in each other's arms, they slept.


End file.
